


Can You See It?

by Calamity_Hero_Awakens



Category: Slender (Video Game), Slender Man Mythos, Slender: The Arrival, Slender: The Eight Pages
Genre: Blood and Injury, Emotional Hurt, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, F/F, Forehead Touching, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Secret Identity, Serious Injuries, Sick Character, Slow To Update, Touch-Starved, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:01:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24972769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamity_Hero_Awakens/pseuds/Calamity_Hero_Awakens
Summary: If there was ever a bad idea, it was entering the Kullman mine.Lauren wasn’t sure what the first clue should have been, but if the hundreds of arrows drawn on the floor and walls weren’t a bad sign, she wasn’t sure what was.
Relationships: Kate Milens | Kate the Chaser/Lauren, Kate/Lauren
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Stomach Inversion

**Author's Note:**

> I got Slender: The Arrival a couple months ago but am just now getting around to writing a fic about it. As my first work based off this game and first full-length F/F fic, feedback is appreciated, but kudos are cool too. I just want more content for this fandom.  
> Updates are slow.

If there was ever a bad idea, it was entering the Kullman mine.

After wandering the forest the night before in search of Kate, Lauren was exhausted, physically and psychologically. She had awoken in a field of tall, dry grass the next morning - she assumed it was the next morning - but what little sleep she had gotten hadn’t been enough. The camcorder she had brought with her had been lying in the grass beside her, the battery nearly full; the same could be said of the flashlight she had found on Kate’s dining room table.

In the tall grass of the field, there were very few places to go. A few tiny constructions rested on the property, but the windows and doors had been boarded up, limiting the amount of exploration Lauren could do with her limited tools. A chain-link fence as well as the boulders and mountain range kept her blocked in, and Lauren supposed she could climb the fence and try to find her way back, but the chance that there could be a clue as to Kate’s whereabouts in the mine proved to be too tempting.

Still, the Kullman mine itself wasn’t the most inviting place. Down the main tunnel, several storage containers had been left about and the barrels that weren’t stacked up were strewn haphazardly throughout the tunnel. The deeper in Lauren went, the darker it became, and less than halfway in, she became dependent on the light of the flashlight to guide her. Upon reaching the back, Lauren quickly realized that the tunnel came to an abrupt end, and she resorted to searching for another entrance. Her search was short-lived, considering she was quick to find the open door to the right that led into a second room, a second tunnel branching off from that room.

Lauren wasn’t sure what the first clue should have been, but if the hundreds of arrows drawn on the floor and walls weren’t a bad sign, she wasn’t sure what was. Following the direction of the arrows, Lauren quickly saw the generator glowing in the dark. It looked identical to the ones that had lined the path behind Kate’s house and she hoped that activating it would turn the lights on. While some of the lights turned on, the most immediate change was the doors and gates sliding open, permitting her entry into the darker and deeper parts of the mine. The sound of metal squealing and sliding against metal made her blood turn cold, but she forced herself to focus. Kate. She was looking for Kate.

According to the glowing lights above the elevator lift, there were six generators that needed to be activated before the elevator would receive enough power to be active again. If she found no other clues about Kate in the mine, then she hoped to at least find something at the top of the lift.

While Lauren’s options were numerous, she decided to head down the passage to her right, passing several storage crates as she went. Old lockers for the previous employees of the mine lined the walls, broken up only by the doorway to a room or the appearance of another hallway. The red glow through one open door caught her attention and she hurried to the room, immediately finding a generator laying in wait of her. Activating the machine, a shiver ran down Lauren’s spine at the pleasant “ding” the machine made; it wasn’t an ominous noise, but it was still off-putting for some indescribable reason. She was quick to leave the room and resume hunting down the remaining four generators.

Exiting the room, Lauren entered the hallway again, making her way to a second short hallway and beginning to climb the stairs when a noise stopped her dead in her tracks. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before and it echoed off the walls, reverberating in her mind and chilling her to the core. Lauren couldn’t identify what it was, and having nothing to compare it to made her all the more anxious. It definitely wasn’t the familiar sound of lights turning on or the metal doors sliding open.

Quickly trudging up the remaining steps, Lauren headed left down the hallway, making a right at the end. A metal railing lined the right side of the hall and Lauren peered over the edge to see a generator on the floor below her. She was already nearly halfway there.

Making her way to the end of the hall, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the scrawled writing on the wall. “NO” was written over and over again on the wall above the landing before her. Her breath quickened slightly at the desperate message and she tried to shake it from her mind - failing miserably - as she descended the stairs. Crossing the landing below, she hurried down the remaining steps before another sound caught her attention. It sounded like an animal, a very demonic and threatening animal, but it wasn’t quite a growl. The closest thing Lauren’s mind could think of was perhaps the sound of chittering or maybe even barking, but even those didn’t seem like adequate comparisons.

By the time Lauren’s fearful mind registered the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching, she had just enough time to turn before she was tackled to the floor. The camcorder and flashlight flew from her hands, cracking against the tile loudly, but Lauren had no time to worry if they were broken or not. The body that had crashed into her was pinning her down to the grimy tile, the person’s pelvis holding her hips down as they sat on top of her. Lauren practically froze in place and her eyes widened in terror as she saw the face of her assailant in the light of the flashlight. While she technically couldn’t see their face because of the white-stained-black mask, Lauren could still make out the black pit of the mouth and the grey sclera of the eye, the pupil having already swallowed up the iris and giving the person - were they still a person? - an even more demonic appearance.

The analysis was short-lived as the person emitted a high pitched screech and their sharp nails tore into her torso, ripping Lauren’s shirt and the skin beneath. A scream was pitched from Lauren’s throat as the deadly nails ripped at her, creating cut after cut in her chest, stomach, shoulders, and collar bones. Lauren’s arms raised to defend herself, swinging wildly at her attacker in hopes of landing a hit of her own. Instead, several deep cuts were inflicted on her arms before her assailant suddenly leapt off her and took off down one of the hallways, disappearing from sight.

Lauren’s entire body hurt from the impact of hitting the ground, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain coursing through the front of her body. Through the ragged cuts in the front of her shirt, Lauren could just make out the dark blood flowing from the injuries, quickly dying the light orange fabric of her shirt a dark red. Every injury stung and forcing herself to her feet was one of the hardest tasks she felt that she had ever accomplished.

Forcing herself to dwell on something besides her injuries, Lauren picked up her flashlight and camcorder. Surprisingly, neither had broken on their fall to the hard tile and that was something she was supremely grateful for. With her entire body aching, her mind reeling, and completely scared out of her wits, Lauren made her way down the hall as fast as her battered and bleeding body would allow. Having seen the glowing generator from the second floor, it was easy to locate once she entered the spacious room.

Returning back upstairs, the woman took a right down the hall she had put off earlier, deciding it was time to explore, though she was terrified by the distant, echoing sound of “chittering”. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she painfully climbed the few steps that led to the suspended walkway. Below, the main room and the first generator as well as the elevator were visible, three of the red lights above the lift now green. Footsteps slapping the concrete below her had Lauren’s heart picking up speed - her heart beating faster than ever before - and she shone her light over the metal railing, searching before catching sight of her assailant. The person froze in place, screeching and hissing when Lauren focused the light on them as they covered their eyes. So they were weak to light? That gave Lauren a small feeling of confidence, though not much.

Finally on the other side of the walkway, Lauren descended the few steps before rounding the corner. The footsteps from before were rapidly approaching and Lauren turned to go back the other way, only making it to the steps before she was snatched backwards. Her legs were tugged out from under her and she fell to the floor, her arms the only thing breaking her fall. The cuts on her body screamed in agony as they made contact with the relentless flooring and the person’s body was back on top of her, sitting on her back as their nails tore into her shoulders and arms. Dropping the camcorder, Lauren fought back.

Swinging one arm, she punched as hard as she could against the person’s leg, which wasn’t very hard, considering the awkward position she was in.

Screaming in pain, she shouted, “Get off!” as she swung the butt end of the flashlight at the body on her back, landing a hit to their thigh. The strike was obviously in vain considering the person didn’t so much as flinch. Several swipes later, they jumped up again, taking off in an arbitrary direction.

Lauren’s entire body was in agony. The cuts that littered her body were deep and blood oozed from them, including the ones on her front. She knew she had to get out of there if she was ever going to survive; she wasn’t sure she could take another attack. She had just as much idea of where Kate was as she had had before entering the mine, and the only thing she had gotten was hurt.

Struggling to her feet, Lauren picked up her camcorder again, hobbling back the way she came. The edges of her vision were dark, darker than the darkness that surrounded her in the mine, and her body ached. Shoulders shrugged forward, she protectively tried to guard her front from any more damage as she hurried back across the walkway, making it to the hall, turning down another one before making it to the first set of stairs she had encountered. Her injuries throbbed as they bled and descending the stairs felt like an even bigger task than before, but she was so close to the exit. Just one more hallway and she’d be back in the main room with the elevator.

The animalistic sounds began again, the hissing and screeching coming from not far away. Her breath quick but laboured, Lauren picked up the pace, nearly screaming at the pain that shot through her body as she tried to run the remaining distance to the door. The footsteps echoing behind her sent her mind into panic mode and tears began to fall from her eyes unbeknownst to her. She couldn’t get caught. No, she still had things to do. She had to make sure Kate was alright and figure out what was going on with her.

Lauren wasn’t even bothering with the camcorder anymore, only hanging onto the flashlight so she could see where she was going. The recorder was tucked under her arm and her left hand was pressed against her chest, trying to slow the bleeding of some of her wounds as she ran. Once she made it out - _if_ Lauren made it out - she would still have to find some way to stop the bleeding until she could get help. That would more than likely take a little while, considering she had no idea where she was, but she figured it couldn’t be too far from Oakside Park.

The door was so close, only a few more feet and she’d be able to slam it behind her, locking out the nightmare inside the Kullman mine.

Tiny, sharp daggers dug into Lauren’s right arm, ripping her backwards and away from her goal.

“Stop!” she screamed before she was thrown to the ground, the awfully familiar body settling its weight on top of her. The horrible nails tore at her skin, creating new cuts, tearing open previous ones, and creating a painful red mess. The two items she had held were cast aside as she raised both hands, trying to fight back and failing miserably. The dark edges of her vision were creeping inward as she grew lightheaded. The pain was horrible but the blood loss was taking its toll and in a matter of moments, her feeble attempts at defending herself were cut short as she passed out, the sound of hissing the last thing she heard.


	2. Rough Road

Everything hurt. That was the first conscious thought Lauren had as she slowly returned to the land of the living. Her arms, shoulders, and entire torso hurt immensely, every inch of her skin from her neck to her hips burning.

The second thought she had was a question: How am I alive? She remembered the horrific events of the dark mine - being chased and attacked multiple times by a demonic creature - but she didn’t remember making it out.

A terrifying thought struck Lauren - /Am I still in the mine?/ - and her eyes finally opened, searching her surroundings but finding nothing. Darkness surrounded her, not an ounce of light available. Her flashlight was missing, as were the red and green lights of the generators and elevator. Had she been moved?

Moving was painful, especially after laying motionless for however long she had. Her muscles were stiff and her body ached, but Lauren curled her hand into a fist and tried to push herself up. A small, involuntary yelp escaped her mouth and she fell back to her previous position, but she noticed something. The surface beneath her was no longer hard concrete; instead, it was something soft. If she hadn’t known better, she might have thought it was a bed.

Between the physical pain, lingering exhaustion, and psychological horror that lingered in her mind, tears formed in Lauren’s eyes and she forced them shut. Her head lolled to the side and she weakly mumbled, “Help me.” It wasn’t a real call for help considering she was much too tired for that, but she still prayed someone would arrive to deliver her from her personal hell.

A door directly to her right opened and Lauren’s eyes shot open just as the door closed, the darkness concealing whoever had entered the room. Fear gripped Lauren by the throat and her eyes stung as the tears spilled over, running down the sides of her face and into her hair.

Another door on her right opened, but the lights remained off and she couldn’t decipher a thing about the person, her possible captor. The sound of running water in the next room caught Lauren’s attention and she strained to listen for any other clues as to where she was or who the person was, but the sound quickly cut off and Lauren was left in ignorant silence again.

Quiet footsteps against the carpet and the squeaky sound of the door closing alerted her that the person had entered the room again. Biting the inside of her cheek, Lauren tried to quiet her uneven breathing so that she could focus on the sounds of the other person. Her heartbeat was frantic with her fear and the blood in her veins rushed, the sound filling her ears so that she could hardly make out another sound.

A quiet click sounded to Lauren’s left and the entire room was cast in a gentle orange light, but Lauren turned her head away, clenching her eyes closed at the sudden, unexpected assault to her eyes. Slowly, she reopened her eyes, squinting as they adjusted to the light that now illuminated the room. Though Lauren’s mind felt hazy with fear, confusion, and the remnants of exhaustion, she clearly recognized the room. It was the master bedroom in Kate’s house, the room that had belonged to Kate’s mother, Beth, before she had died. She had been in the room several times before when she had spent the night with Kate as a child, and again only a few days before when she had come to help Kate sell the house. If only that had been what happened.

Finally turning her head back to the left side of the room, Lauren was frozen. Standing to the side of the bed, looming over her, was her assailant from the night before - at least, she assumed it had been the night before. The white face of the mask stared back at her, a small trail of blood smeared on the side. The white hoodie of the person was no better off; the once white fabric was nearly grey and blood covered the front of it, a bloody hand print pressed against the person’s chest. Lauren was sure it was hers from when she had tried to fight them off; she didn’t want to think about it being someone else’s.

When the person moved, Lauren’s fear spiked. They returned to the bathroom and the water began running again as Lauren tried to figure out what to do. It wasn’t like she could get up and make a run for it - she was in too much physical pain to do much more than shift her legs and if she even tried, she was still too slow to outrun this person, as she had learned before.

Glancing around the room, Lauren realized why it was so dark. The windows had been covered by blackout curtains, the only source of light available now was the lamp to the side of the bed. Her mind buzzed with questions and as she laid there awaiting her fate, she quickly pondered them. Why had they brought her back? Were they just going to finish her off here? Was she going to be tortured? What about the faceless monster that had chased her through Oakside Park? Surely it had something to do with this.

When her captor reappeared in the doorway, the tears returned to Lauren’s eyes, flowing uninhibited down the sides of her face. She didn’t want to die. She was terrified of death, mostly because she had no idea what would happen. It was hard to believe that she would completely cease to exist and nothing would happen to her soul, but she also didn’t want to think about whether she would go to heaven or hell, assuming they existed. It wasn’t that she was a bad person, she was just more of an impassively good person.

The person’s feet shuffled against the carpet as they approached the bed, taking a seat on the edge and making the mattress dip under their weight. Lauren, crying quietly, desperately wanted to flee, run away, get away somehow. She’d even settle for just shuffling to the far edge of the bed. Instead, she laid on the mattress crying, her blurry eyes watching the mysterious person lean toward her.

“Stop,” she pitifully sobbed, turning her head away and closing her eyes.

A hand came to cup the left side of Lauren’s face and turn her head back toward her assailant, their thumb running over her cheek in a gesture that was much too comforting for the situation. Opening her eyes again, Lauren stared at the blank face of the mask that concealed the person’s identity. They were leaned close, one hand on the mattress to hold them up and the other on Lauren’s face. Glancing down at the other hand, Lauren saw that the horrific nails that had cut into her skin were still there, filed into points, but the hands had been washed of her blood. Besides the fact that they were visibly clean, Lauren could smell whatever floral soap was in the bathroom on the skin of the hand caressing her face.

The thumb stroking Lauren’s cheek slowly lifted to wipe the tears from her eyes, running gently over her skin as if to soothe her. The action was confusing, especially considering that this was the person who had attacked her multiple times and inflicted countless wounds on her, and Lauren found herself wondering what their next action would be. This had to be leading up to something. Maybe this was some kind of prelude to the coming torture or - Lauren’s mind dreaded the thought - rape. Tears continued to spill from her eyes at the thought and her lips quivered in fear as she opened them.

“If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with,” Lauren said in a small voice, already having resigned herself to that fate.

The hand on her face disappeared and Lauren closed her eyes, her chest bouncing unsteadily with her uneven breaths as she cried. They were going to kill her. She was finally going to die.

The bottom edge of her shirt was lifted lightly and Lauren opened her eyes in confusion before she saw a pair of scissors beginning to cut the fabric, starting at the bottom and working their way up to the neckline.

“No, no, please,” Lauren began to sob. “Don’t touch me, please!”

Her pleas were ignored as the fabric was cut open, the scissors appearing again at her arms and cutting open the short sleeves of the shirt. With the front of the clothing cut away, it was removed from her body, leaving Lauren in her jeans and brassiere.

“Stop!” Lauren violently sobbed, fear clouding her mind as a hand ran over one of the deep cuts in her stomach. Her body jerked away from the touch, but immediately began to ache afterward. The hand on her body disappeared and Lauren opened her eyes, not wanting to be caught off guard by whatever action occurred next.

A wet washcloth was picked up from the edge of the mattress and gently pressed against Lauren’s lower stomach.

“Hahh,” the injured woman breathed in pain at the contact. Her skin felt like it was on fire, and the touch of the cloth initially hurt, but the cool fabric eventually began to quell the burning sensation.

With an uncharacteristically gentle hand, the hooded person beside Lauren began to wipe away the dried blood from Lauren’s body, careful to not apply too much pressure or friction directly on the injuries. Her breathing was still erratic and she was still terrified, but Lauren managed to remain quiet as she was gently wiped clean of the blood that covered her body. Her arms were individually grasped lightly and lifted slowly before they were wiped down, ensuring that Lauren wouldn’t be unnecessarily hurt by the action.

Once Lauren had been wiped down, she was patted gently with a clean towel to stop the few injuries that had begun to bleed slowly. During the whole treatment, Lauren could do nothing but stare in bewilderment at the dangerous stranger who was taking care of her. What had happened to elicit such a major character change?

Free from blood, the gentle hands that had wiped her down disappeared as the person stood, exiting to the bathroom and returning a few seconds later.

“Why am I here?” Lauren weakly asked, being completely ignored as the person pulled open one of the dresser drawers and rummaged through the contents for a moment before pulling out a piece of clothing. Sliding the drawer closed, they returned to the bed, sitting on the edge again, but closer to Lauren than the first time. The scissors were picked up again and the straps to Lauren’s brassiere were snipped, the piece of clothing remaining in place just barely by the strap that wrapped around her body and hooked in the back.

Before Lauren could begin panicking and begging again, a hand pushed its way under her body, gently pushing against the small of her back as another hand raised one of Lauren’s arms to wrap around their neck. Their chests were nearly pushed together but the person seemed to keep their distance. Lauren wasn’t sure why, but she was grateful for it. Raising her other arm shakily, Lauren wrapped it lightly around the person’s neck, grabbing fistfuls of the dirty white hoodie before she was slowly pulled up into a sitting position. When her muscles tensed up, her entire body felt like it had been lit on fire anew, but when she relaxed and let the other person pull her up, the pain was much less intense.

Finally in a sitting position, the hands on Lauren’s body slowly slipped away, grabbing the piece of clothing that had been set beside them both. With a ridiculous amount of mildness, the tee shirt was slipped onto Lauren’s arms, carefully worked up to her shoulders, and slipped over her head in such a way that kept her from needing to raise her arms. Once the shirt was finally on, the clean hands crept back under the shirt, undoing the hooks that kept Lauren’s brassiere on and slipping it out from under the shirt. With the fabric and wires removed, Lauren had to admit, she did feel a little more comfortable.

She was slowly and carefully laid back on the mattress before her shredded shirt and snipped brassiere were thrown away and the light was turned off again. Without another word, the person left the room, locking the door behind them and leaving Lauren in darkness once again.


	3. Cleanse Our Souls

A pair of hands fumbling with the button and zipper on her pants was what Lauren awoke to sometime later. Her eyes flew open and with the light of the bedside lamp illuminating the room, she saw the disturbing person from before on their knees on the end of the bed. Though still slightly stuporous, Lauren began to panic, shuffling her legs away and trying to kick at the person.

They must have realized she was awake, because the hooded and masked figure relented, pulling their hands away and looking up at Lauren. Not for the first time, Lauren felt a fear grip at her and she moved her aching arms down to try and button her pants back up. Her hands were gently grabbed and moved away from the clothing and only then did she register the sound of water running in the master bathroom. The curtains were still blacked out and she had no idea how much time had passed or even what time of day it was, but Lauren had the feeling that a significant amount of time had passed.

The person at the foot of the bed stared at her blankly, waiting for her to understand what they wanted.

When she finally connected the dots, Lauren asked with a shaky, unsure voice, “A bath?”

The figure was slow to react and their reply seemed slightly uncertain because of the amount of time it took to answer, but they nodded their head. Lauren tried to even out her breathing as she nodded too and that seemed to be the only permission the person was looking for because they returned to removing the lower article of clothing from Lauren’s body. Though hesitant, the injured woman allowed it, watching the person’s every movement as they pealed off the bloody and slightly torn jeans and tossed them to the side.

Removing themself from the bed, Lauren’s previous assailant approached her, hesitantly wrapping their arm around her midsection to lift her from the mattress. Lauren’s arms wrapped around their shoulders slowly, the pain limiting her movements, and the person’s other arm slipped under her knees, lifting her up from the mattress. She briefly considered telling them that she could walk fine on her own, but she didn’t want to upset them in any way and with how weak she felt, she wasn’t sure if that was even true. With her face so close to the other’s, Lauren tried to gather as much information as she could about this person.

Their hair was long and black, greasy from not having been washed in at least a week. From what she could see beneath the mask - which wasn’t much - their skin was an unnatural and unhealthy pale, nearly grey, and their eyes were a milky white with hazy grey for the pupil and iris. Glancing down, Lauren could just make out a hint of dark red beneath the hoodie: a simple shirt. Judging by how easily they had lifted her and their more androgynous build, Lauren concluded that they were, in fact, a man.

Entering the bathroom, Lauren squinted at the white fluorescent white lighting overhead. The person carrying her didn’t seem thrilled about the lighting either, but he ignored his discomfort as he set Lauren on the edge of the tub, leaning over to turn off the faucet. Focusing back on the woman sat awkwardly and uncomfortably on the tub’s edge, the man reached down to grab the bottom hem of Lauren’s shirt. With nothing beneath the shirt, Lauren panicked slightly and grabbed the hand by the wrist, stopping the movement. She didn’t want to be undressed and naked in front of this person, in front of any person for that matter, but especially not a strange man. Her mouth opened to protest but a single finger from the other pale hand raised to press a single finger to her lips, silencing any protest. Swallowing her discomfort, protests, and tears, Lauren allowed the man to pull the shirt from her body, immediately crossing her arms over her chest to hide herself.

The hands moved down to her last article of clothing and Lauren uncomfortably shifted to allow the clothing to be pulled off. Now fully exposed, Lauren wrapped one arm across her chest and covered her lower region with one hand, trying to keep herself hidden from sight. She felt so exposed and embarrassed, practically infantile. A few stray tears ran down her face at the sheer amount of embarrassment and she turned her face away.

The man seemed patiently indifferent as he gently picked her up again, slowly lowering her into the warm bath water. Lauren hissed at the initial contact between water and cuts but after a moment, the warm water began to soothe the ache in her muscles and dull the pain in her skin and she relaxed a little, though her hands remained in place to shield herself from the other’s eyes.

Once she was fully in the tub, the man dropped to his knees and a pale hand crept out to wipe the tears from her face with a thumb. Lauren sniffed weakly but allowed it. Submerged in the tub, Lauren also allowed the man to grab a rag and wet it in the water before applying soap and gently rubbing her back with the cloth. She knew she must look pitiful, hunched over in a tub, littered with wounds, naked, and sniffling, but she also was just grateful to be alive so she pushed the thought from her mind.

After her back had been rubbed down, the cloth moved to her shoulders, gently washing over the damaged skin before gliding down her left arm which was half hidden beneath the water. It took a few gentle tugs but eventually, Lauren allowed the man to have the arm, pulling her legs up toward her chest to hide herself beneath the water. She was grateful that the man ignored those parts of her body, focusing solely on the task of cleansing her.

Trading the left arm for the right, Lauren remained stationary as she was softly but thoroughly cleaned, silently dreading the moment they moved on to other parts of the body.

Once her arms, back, and shoulders had been washed, the man paused before handing the soapy rag to Lauren. The vulnerable woman stared blankly at him for a moment before a small smile, nearly imperceptible, crept onto her face.

She was grateful to be granted this small thing and as she took the rag with one hand, she quietly said, “Thank you.”

The blank eyes behind the mask stared at her for a moment longer before a hand gently patted the top of her head once and the person stood, turning his back to Lauren and exiting the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Lauren watched him go, absentmindedly taking note of the single window on the opposite side of the room that was also concealed by a blackout curtain, before she turned back to the task at hand.

As quickly and thoroughly as she could, Lauren washed herself with the rag, going slowly and carefully over the wounds that covered her torso. A few of the scabs caught on the rag and were ripped off before they began to bleed slowly, staining the water and turning it a light pink in colour.

Lauren whimpered in pain but continued to wash herself and when she was finished, she awkwardly called, “I’m done.” She figured the man hadn’t gone far and was proven right when the door opened a few seconds later, a familiar figure entering the room, a thick plastic cup in hand. Lauren watched cautiously as he approached and lowered to his knees beside the tub, dipping the cup into the water and then proceeding to rinse off Lauren’s body. A light, breathy sigh escaped her lips at the feeling of the warm water slipping over her body but otherwise, the room was quiet; Lauren listened to the sound of the water lazily splashing back into the tub and against her skin.

Body finally clean, the masked man gently leaned Lauren back against the edge of the tub, filling the cup then pouring it over her head to wet her hair. His unoccupied hand rested against her hairline, preventing the water from pouring over her face, and Lauren felt oddly touched by the unusual but simple gesture. She wasn’t a child and getting water on her face wasn’t a concern, but the gesture didn’t go unappreciated.

With Lauren’s hair properly wet, the man tugged the sleeves of his hoodie up to his elbows before pouring a generous amount of shampoo in his hand and beginning to massage it into Lauren’s dark locks. Her eyes slipped closed at the gentle massage and her head tilted down as she enjoyed the feeling. Though the man’s nails were sharp and pointed, a dangerous weapon, he was careful to keep them restrained, massaging the shampoo into Lauren’s scalp with the pads of his fingers.

Too soon, the feeling ended and the man dipped his hands into the water, rinsing them before picking the plastic cup up again and filling it. As before, he kept one hand pressed against Lauren’s forehead to prevent water from getting on her face or in her eyes as her hair was rinsed.

Soap rinsed completely from her body, the man pulled the plug and allowed the water to drain from the tub while he disappeared into the next room to get something. Lauren waited patiently, shivering slightly as the warm water drained away, and the man was quick to return, a few various articles of clothing held in his arms.

Covering herself as best she could, Lauren allowed herself to be lifted from the tub and set on the edge, a towel handed to her which she quickly used to cover herself. As soon as she was covered, the man grabbed a towel of his own and began patting her limbs dry, mindful of the wounds on her arms and shoulders. The man turned his back to allow Lauren to dry herself without an audience and as soon as she was finished, he gently pulled her to her feet, watching her closely to make sure she wouldn’t topple over. Realizing she was steady, he turned to grab a pair of women’s underwear, dropping back to his knees and patting Lauren’s thigh, silently asking her to step into them. With a hand placed on one of the man’s shoulders for balance, Lauren carefully stepped into the piece of clothing, standing stock still as it was pulled up her legs and into place.

Holding the towel in place with one arm, Lauren maneuvered herself with the help of her… What was he? A new companion? She wasn’t really sure how to refer to him anymore. Anyway, with his assistance, Lauren stepped into a pair of simple black sweatpants, feeling better now that she was clean and at least partially dressed.

Folding the towel over, the masked man set the towel on the edge of the tub and gently pushed Lauren to sit on it before reaching over and sliding a drawer beside the sink open, pulling out a roll of clean gauze, a handful of Q-Tips, and a half empty tube of Neosporin. After applying a small amount of the medication to the end of the cotton tipped product, he began gently applying the medicine to the cuts of Lauren’s left arm. Once that had been done, he began to wrap her arm from the elbow up, careful not to make the wrap too tight. The same treatment was given to her right arm and torso - careful to avoid her chest, which Lauren kept hidden beneath the towel - and then, with his help, a simple green tank top was pulled over Lauren’s head and arms, adequately covering her top half.

Fully dressed, Lauren stood, taking only a step before she slipped on the wet tile and began to go down. Before a sound could be ushered from her throat, arms grabbed her under the arms, hoisting her back up and tossing her up with superhuman strength before she was caught in those arms once more, being carried like a bride. Tucked so close to his chest, the only thing Lauren realized was that she could feel his chest beneath the hoodie and “he” was in fact, a “she”. It didn’t matter to her, but it was an odd realization. With how strong the person was and by the fact that they could easily toss Lauren around if they wanted, she had assumed they would be a man. Lauren had never seen such strength in a woman before and she felt just a little silly that she had protectively tried to hide herself from this person. While, yes, she still felt supremely embarrassed to be naked in front of them, they were also a woman, so it wasn’t like they would be seeing anything knew.

By the time Lauren’s thoughts finally returned to the person carrying her, she was being set down on the bed again. Feeling clean and a little exhausted - physically and psychologically - Lauren was ready to go back to sleep for a little while longer when her stomach let out an ungodly sound, screaming at the lack of fuel it had received lately. Lauren tried to ignore it, not wanting to bother the other woman for anything when she had just generously given her something, but the woman’s blank eyes behind the mask stared at her for a moment before she disappeared to the bathroom and turned off the light, returning with the dirty towels and exiting the room without another word. As the lock turned into place, Lauren hoped she would bring some kind of food when she returned.


	4. Safe Now

Several more hours had passed while Lauren slept and when she had awoken, she had laid in the darkness, staring blankly in the direction of the ceiling. She didn’t remember turning off the lamp, but the room was blacker than midnight. Not an ounce of light crept around the edges of the curtains or shone through the fabric. Somewhere down the hall was the noise of feet against the carpet before the quiet sound of a door closing.

Reaching down slowly, Lauren ran her left hand under her shirt, skimming her fingertips over the bandages wrapped around her torso. The cuts felt better than before, but her whole body was left feeling sore and stiff, her back aching from laying in the same position for so long.

The sound of pipes creaking in the walls caught Lauren’s attention and she listened to the sound, realizing that the shower or washing machine must be running; the sinks and toilets didn’t make such a loud noise for such a profound period of time.

Lauren guessed it had been nearly twenty minutes before the sound ceased and she was left in silence again, straining to hear any other sound in the house. A few muffled noises sounded down the hall and then there were footsteps against the hardwood stairs. Several indistinguishable sounds later, the footsteps returned on the stairs, coming closer before the lock was turned and the door opened. Instead of closing the door immediately like every other time the woman had entered, she left the door open. A light from somewhere in the hall cast light on the figure in the doorway, casting eery shadows on the walls.

Making her way to the bed, the woman slipped her arms under Lauren helping her to sit up before turning her legs to the edge of the bed. With a little help from the masked person, Lauren was soon on her feet, wobbling unsteadily. One hand gripping her lower arm gently, Lauren was led from the room and slowly down the stairs. Her legs shook like a newborn foal and it took her longer than it should have to reach the foot of the stairs, but the person holding onto her was patient and allowed her to take her time. At the foot of the stairs, she was led through the dining room and into the kitchen. Along the way, Lauren noticed that every window had been blacked out with a thick black curtain like the ones in the bedroom.

In the kitchen, a chair at the square table was pulled out for Lauren to sit and she quickly took a seat, happy to be sitting again. She wasn’t sure why she felt so shaky and tired, but she assumed it had something to do with the fact that she had lost a lot of blood, laid in bed for several days, and hadn’t eaten anything since this had all began. It was bound to take a toll on her body sooner or later.

Once she was seated, the hand on her arm released its grip, its owner shuffling over to the microwave. Being left alone for the moment, Lauren took a second to look around the room. Besides the fact that all of the lights were turned on - not just a handful of them - the room looked exactly the same as it had when she had arrived a few days earlier to help Kate sell the house. A few plates were still on the floor, propped up against the lower cabinets in front of the sink; a pot, though now empty, remained in the small sink; and a few stray boxes of cereal were haphazardly stacked on the island in the kitchen. Lauren glanced over at the phone in the holder on the counter but quickly banished the thought; she couldn’t make a move for it now, and she was sure the phone line was still dead. After all, no one had come to fix it.

Shuffling in her seat to get comfortable, Lauren turned back to the table, realizing that there was a plant in a pot in the center of the table. The white flowers had bloomed but the green leaves were beginning to brown on the ends and Lauren was suddenly struck with a sense of longing. She wanted the plant to survive for some inexplicable reason and she glanced over at her supposed “caregiver” before shakily standing, slowly making her way into the kitchen. As soon as she approached the sink, her hip bumped the counter and the woman standing in front of the microwave whipped around, staring her down with lifeless eyes.

Lauren nearly flinched from the harsh look but quiet explained, “I just want some water. For the plant.”

The dark eyes darted over to the table before fixing back on Lauren; her head nodded slowly, but her eyes remained on Lauren. Lauren tried to ignore the stare as she reached up and opened the cabinet, pulling out a clean mug and setting it on the counter. Picking up the pot in the sink, she set it to the side then filled the mug with water before shuffling back over to the table. As she returned to her seat and began slowly adding water to the little potted plant, Lauren could still feel the pair of eyes watching her.

When the plant had been watered, Lauren downed the remaining water, revelling in the feeling of the cool liquid. It had been days since she had been able to enjoy the simple joy of a cup of water and she wasn’t sure how she had lasted so long.

The empty mug was suddenly pulled from her hands and Lauren’s eyes darted up to see the person standing over her, staring at her with unfortunately familiar blank eyes. Lauren opened her mouth to reply - what she was going to say, she wasn’t even sure of yet - when the face turned away, hurrying back into the kitchen. Lauren watched her go, staring dumbfounded as she watched the cup be refilled with water then set in front of her. She wasted no time in picking up the mug, chugging the cold tap water and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand afterward. As the mug was set back on the table, a plate of food was slid into place in front of her. Lauren stared in befuddlement at the simple meal - a reheated cheeseburger, limp french fries, and a mound of haphazardly squirted ketchup on the side - before her gaze lifted to the woman’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Lauren said, genuinely grateful for a meal. Her stomach felt hollow and reheated fast food had never looked so good to her before. The woman gave a single nod, her head turned down as she took a seat to Lauren’s left.

It was only a matter of minutes before every piece of food on the plate had disappeared. Lauren felt better than she had in the past few days, but her stomach still felt only half full.

Noticing the woman’s cloudy eyes were trained on her, Lauren cleared her throat. “Thank you, again. That was wonderful.”

The empty plate was taken by a pale hand as was the mug before she returned to the kitchen and set the plate in the small sink, refilling the mug and setting it back in front of Lauren. Before Lauren could say anything, the woman turned her back and headed to the kitchen island, picking up the box of cereal and then turning to face Lauren. She held the box up as if in question and a grateful smile appeared on Lauren’s face as she shyly nodded her head.

A white and blue striped bowl was pulled from the cabinet and a gallon of milk, only half full, was also grabbed before all of the items were set in front Lauren. Picking up the box, Lauren opened the flap at the top and pulled out the plastic bag inside, shaking some of the contents into the bowl before sliding the bag into the box. As she poured the milk over the dry cereal, a metal spoon was set beside the bowl and Lauren looked up at the woman before thanking her for the third time that day.

Three bowls of cereal later, Lauren was full and restless. She assumed she would be returned to her room upstairs, but she wished she wouldn’t. Staying in her room all day was quickly becoming a monotonous way of spending her time.

Watching the masked person set the bowl and spoon in the sink, Lauren quietly asked, “Can I water the other plants?”

The blank eyes behind the mask turned to stare at her intently and Lauren thought about dismissing the question herself, but remained silent instead. A long pause followed the question as the woman went about returning the milk to the fridge and setting the box of cereal back on the island in the kitchen. Finally, after she had returned to the table and was standing over Lauren, she gave a single nod.

A genuine smile appeared on Lauren’s face, though she wasn’t completely sure why. Maybe it was because that meant delaying her return to her room.

Lauren waited patiently as the woman filled a pitcher with cold water then returned to the table, handing the pitcher to Lauren. Once she had stood from her seat and began moving again, a hand, gentle and feather light, pressed against her lower back, reminding her of the other woman’s presence as if she had somehow forgotten.

After having a proper meal, Lauren felt a little stronger than she had before and her legs no longer shook when she walked. Entering the laundry room, Lauren realized that the plant on the side table was more than likely past saving, the leaves brittle and brown, but she still poured water into the dry soil as if that would save it. The plant in the bathroom wasn’t much better off, but the leaves were still a little green and Lauren watered it anyway.

Exiting the laundry room, the woman appeared behind her again, pressing a hand to Lauren’s lower back. Lauren wasn’t sure if the action was supposed to be reassuring or threatening, but she took it as a neutral gesture, nothing more than a reminder that there was someone else there with her.

Back in the kitchen, Lauren shuffled to the corner and watered the small tree in its lonely pot before heading toward the sink to refill the pitcher. She hadn’t used much water, but there were several more plants on just the lower floor and she didn’t want to run out.

In the dining room, Lauren watered the two plants before heading toward the doorway, heading to the living room next. Sparing a glance at the window, Lauren knew the plants would wilt if they didn’t receive sunlight, but she wasn’t about to test her luck and ask for something else. She had been allowed to water the plants; that would have to be enough for now.

With the plants on the lower level watered, Lauren began to ascend the stairs, the hooded woman following close behind, though she had finally removed her hand from Lauren’s back. Starting in her own room, Lauren watered the plants in her room and bathroom before taking a seat on the edge of the tub and refilling the pitcher for the second time. While the container filled with the clear liquid, the woman stood beside the sink only a few feet away, watching silently. With the pitcher full once more, Lauren stood from the edge of the tub before shuffling past the woman without a glance, heading down the hall to the other bedrooms and final bathroom.

Once the plants in the second and third bedrooms and the last bathroom were watered - some appeared to be past saving, but Lauren still watered them out of pity - she headed down the hall to Kate’s room. She had only made it a few steps in that direction when a hand gripped her upper arm, making her yelp pitifully. The hand relented its hold, sliding down to hold her forearm instead. Lauren turned to find the masked woman standing beside her, staring at her blankly like she always did. Without a word, Lauren was tugged in the opposite direction, back to her room once more.

With a hand on her arm, Lauren was led back to bed and gently guided to sit on the mattress, the pitcher in her hands taken. As the person turned to leave, Lauren pitifully called out.

“Please don’t leave.”

While she didn’t necessarily want to spend more time with this person, being constantly watched with lifeless eyes and receiving little to no response, Lauren didn’t want to be left alone again. She was tired of being alone. Even though danger surrounded this hooded person like a thick, suffocating blanket, Lauren found that she was willing to spend time with them in awkward silence if it meant she didn’t have to be alone again.

The stranger turned to look at her, staring at her intently. Lauren wasn’t exactly sure what she had expected, but she hadn’t really anticipated receiving an actual response. Well, as much of a response as this was, but it was the most she would be getting.

The masked woman stared as her a moment longer before patting the pitcher once and then leaving, the door locking behind her. Lauren felt a deep, despairing loneliness creep up her spine, surrounding her mind just as thickly as the static in the woods had. Had the room always been this cold and she was just now noticing it, or was it just her?

She wished Kate were there. She would know what to do, and even if she didn’t, she would be able to put on a convincing facade that would fool Lauren into believing everything was alright even though it wasn’t.

Lauren thought of all the letters she had found from someone named CR that had been sent to Kate. She had never met him before, but he obviously knew about Lauren, though that seemed logical enough. They had been best friends for countless years; they had grown up together, gone to school together. They had been to sleepovers, shared their hurts, talked about boys and laughed at the idea of getting married someday.

A profound feeling of longing mixed dangerously within Lauren at the thought of Kate. When Lauren had realized that she hadn’t wanted to be with any guy, with any girl, with anyone that wasn’t Kate, she was afraid to come clean to her best friend. Her fear of admitting this was what kept her quiet but by the time she had decided it was high time to stop pining and just tell Kate, a wedge had already been put in place between them. Kate had grown distant, rarely answering Lauren’s phone calls and almost never reaching out to her. Lauren realized now that something else, something much more sinister had been going on, but it still didn’t stop the hurt.

Lauren vaguely wondered if Kate had been involved with CR in some other way - something extending beyond friendship - but she banished the thought quickly. It wasn’t her business, and she supposed it didn’t matter now.

Hunched over on the edge of the mattress, Lauren sniffed, a shiver running through her. She felt impossibly cold and she wasn’t quite sure why. It seemed to be a herculean task, but Lauren finally managed to push herself up from her seat with her stiff arms before shuffling to the other side of the bed and turning the lamp on. Finally able to see her surroundings once more, Lauren gathered up the blanket from the bed, her hands shaking from the internal cold that had suddenly decided to plague her body.

As her sore limbs gathered up the soft duvet, Lauren noticed the sound of crinkling paper before an object caught her eye. Lauren glanced down in time to see a piece of paper drop to the floor and a small sigh left her lips. She knew bending down to retrieve it would hurt - and it did - but once it was in her hands, Lauren was quick to unfold the small piece of white paper.

In the top left corner was a blue symbol of a cross with the words “North Cross Hospital” just below it; the top right corner was home to a hand drawn “9” inside a circle, the mark written in red. Below that, a simple message was written out in black ink.

“Kate, leaving this note in case you wake up tonight. I'm going to assume you don't remember what happened. I came over to check on you and found you out in that park behind the house.  
“You had a broken video camera with you and a bag full of weird drawings. I don't know what happened out there but you're safe now.  
“The doctors here will help you.”

The bottom of the message was familiarly signed with “-CR” and Lauren felt her stomach churn as she tossed the note on the floor, abandoning it as she climbed back onto the bed slowly. Pulling the blanket over her shoulders, Lauren wrapped herself up, feeling her previous shivers beginning to wrack her body. The cold within her only seemed more intense and her teeth were nearly chattering as she sniffed, pushing her face into the fabric gathered under her chin. Her nose was running and she felt more tired than ever, her entire body shivering beneath the thick blanket. She wished she was in a hot bath, but the thought of leaving her soft cocoon and removing what little clothing she had on sounded terrible, so she abandoned the idea. Sniffing, Lauren remained hunched over on the mattress as she closed her eyes. She knew that if she fell asleep sitting like that, her entire body would hurt later, but she wasn’t about to rearrange herself, not while she felt like everything was crashing down around her.


	5. Checking In

Even in sleep, Lauren could find no peace. Dream after dream consisted of Kate and CR and by the time Lauren awoke, she felt as if she hadn’t slept but for a moment. Breathing was difficult and Lauren’s mouth hung open as she nearly panted; her sinuses were so congested that she found it impossible to breathe through her nose.

When she had finally caught her breath, Lauren sniffed, shivering violently beneath the blanket that was still wrapped around her hunched shoulders as she closed her eyes. She could feel the dried tears on her skin and her eyes were puffy, but she hadn’t remembered crying. She supposed it wouldn’t have been the first time though and decided not to dwell on it. She didn’t remember what she had dreamed about, but she wasn’t too keen on remembering anyway.

A loud roll of thunder outside the window caught her attention and Lauren’s head lifted lazily to look in that direction, though she couldn’t see outside because of the curtains. With the lamp still on beside the bed, Lauren had a clear view of the room and her eyes were immediately drawn to the figure that sat on the side of the mattress, silent as always.  
The rain outside began to pick up, the wind blowing it so that it thundered heavily against the glass of the window. Lauren desperately wanted to lift the curtain and watch as the water poured down on the dead grass of the yard, but she felt too exhausted and ill to do so. Instead, she settled on letting her eyes close so that she could focus on the sound of the rain, picturing it in her mind. Sitting in the center of the mattress, Lauren was hunched over, her eyes closed and her mouth hung open just the slightest so that she could breathe.

A hand suddenly touched her forehead, feather light, but Lauren still jerked away, her eyes flying open. Lauren relaxed a little when she realized who it was - after all, who else would it be? - and her eyes drifted closed again. The person’s hand pressed to her face again, this time on her left cheek. Their touch was so light and delicate that Lauren could hardly believe they were the same person that had attacked her in the darkness of the Kullman mine a few days prior.

The hand that embraced her face was impossibly warm and Lauren found herself leaning into the touch. She probably shouldn’t have, but her need for warmth outweighed any kind of alarm bells that might have been going off in her head. She vaguely made the promise to herself that, at the first sign of immediate danger, she would pull away; that was true enough, considering the human response of fight or flight.

Besides the thumb gently running over her cheek, the woman made no move to continue or stop and Lauren took a small amount of comfort in that which prompted her to do something a little braver (or stupider, she wasn’t sure which yet). Sniffing, Lauren unwound her arm from beneath the blanket and lifted her hand to cover the one on her face. The woman’s thumb stopped for a moment and Lauren practically held her breath until the movement resumed and the breath came rushing from her lungs. This was okay. She wasn’t going to be attacked for this.

Testing her luck, Lauren gently wrapped her fingers around the hand, relishing in the warmth of the other’s skin. Her own felt cold to the touch and the ice in her veins was slowly but surely freezing her; it felt as if the heat in her body was slowly leaking out and she was powerless to stop it. The blanket that had been wrapped around her while she slept was thick but did little to keep her warm.

Breathing heavily through her mouth, Lauren hesitantly wrapped both of her hands around the one that was planted on her face, pulling it away and holding it between her own. The inanimate eyes behind the mask watched Lauren’s every move, studying her. That alone was almost enough to deter Lauren, but she persisted, shrugging the blanket from her shoulders and moving her stiff legs to slide closer to the woman who remained as still as a statue. Slowly moving forward on her knees, Lauren approached the masked woman, a shiver coursing through her body, causing her to tremble.

When Lauren’s knees nearly touched the woman’s clothed leg, she stopped, still clutching the hand in her grasp.

“I’m c-cold,” Lauren said with a shiver before sniffing, as if it wasn’t obvious. She felt like a child going to her mother when she was sick, asking to be taken care of.

The hand that wasn’t sandwiched between Lauren’s own reached up to press against her forehead again, the warm fingers feeling like absolute heaven against her cold, clammy skin. Lauren’s eyes searched the ones behind the mask and, finding nothing but blank indifference, she persisted onward.

“I’m cold,” she repeated in a quiet, nasally voice. She felt completely stopped up and the only thing she wanted was to feel warm. She could deal with the pressure in her head if it meant she could find a way to get warm.

The woman remained unresponsive for several seconds, simply staring her down, before she stood and disappeared into the dark bathroom. The sound of running water filled the master bathroom for a handful of minutes before she returned, three washrags in her hands. The damp cloths were set on the wooden end of the bed before Lauren was eased back to lie down. She didn’t want to lie down again but her body was grateful to no longer be trapped in an uncomfortable position, so she tolerated it silently.

Lying on her back, Lauren’s arms trembled at her sides, the cold from within washing over her in waves and sending violent tremors through her body. Her arms were turned so that her palms faced the ceiling before a warm, damp cloth was set in the palm of her hand and over her wrist. When the third cloth was placed on her forehead, a small, involuntary moan slipped from Lauren’s lips and her eyes closed. The warmth of the rags was wonderful and she could slowly feel her body begin to warm up, though just slightly; she still felt despairingly cold in most places.

Lauren wasn’t sure if she had fallen asleep or if the woman had simply moved so silently that she hadn’t been able to hear her leave, but the next thing she knew, a bottle was being pressed to her lips. Lauren clamped them shut, her eyes flying open. There was no way she was about to put something into her body without knowing what it was.

The bottle was pulled back just slightly so that Lauren could read the label on the side: “Robitussin.”

Cold medicine? She was being given liquid cold medicine? Lauren hadn’t even known there was any in the house to begin with, but it wasn’t like she had raided the medicine cabinets either. When she had arrived at Kate’s house and found it in a state of disarray, she had more important things to do than check to see what kind of medications had been left behind.

The bottle was pressed to her lips again and Lauren complied this time, opening her lips and allowing the liquid to be poured into her mouth. It didn’t taste the best and she would have preferred a pill or capsule, but then she wouldn’t have been able to read the label and she wouldn’t have taken the medication.

After she had choked down some of the thick, gross liquid, the bottle was pulled away, a water bottle taking its place. Lauren was grateful for the tasteless liquid to wash out the foul taste in her mouth and she chugged nearly half of the bottle before it was pulled away. When she was finally able to catch her breath, she was left panting heavily, struggling to pull in enough oxygen for several long moments.

Breathing heavily through her mouth, Lauren watched lazily as the hooded woman moved forward, one knee on the edge of the bed and one arm braced above Lauren’s shoulder as she leaned over the sick woman. If Lauren hadn’t already been struggling to breathe, she might have held her breath. Her heart picked up and her already laboured breathing increased in its pace.

A single finger was pressed over Lauren’s parted lips as if to say “Hush” and then the finger slid slowly under her chin, the hand rotating so that all four fingers brushed under her chin lightly. A pale thumb ran over Lauren’s lower lip as she closed her mouth and sniffed again. As her mouth opened again, the woman’s thumb drifted up to her top lip, running over the soft skin lightly before running over the corner of her mouth and back to her bottom lip.

Lying back on the mattress, slowly starting to feel warm and less congested, Lauren prayed that drowsiness was a side effect of the medication. She didn’t want to consider the possibility that she might have been drugged. Regardless, she was beginning to feel tired. Through the drowsiness though, Lauren felt annoyed. She was tired of sleeping constantly, though it wasn’t like she had much else to do. Well, she should have been looking for Kate, but at the moment, she seemed to be under some kind of “house arrest,” the “officer” keeping a close eye on her at almost all times.

Annoyed and sick, Lauren forced herself to suck it up as she began to fall asleep, the woman’s hand still gently stroking her face.


	6. There's An Explanation

Without being able to look out the window, Lauren was never sure exactly how much time had passed, but she estimated it had been nearly a week since she had been kidnapped. While the situation she was stuck in might not have exactly resembled the stereotypical idea of “kidnapping” - she hadn’t been tied up or beaten - there was no denying that she had, in fact, been kidnapped. She was locked in one bedroom except for when she was brought down to eat. Even then, the masked woman kept close to her, guiding her with a hand on Lauren’s back.

As far as treatment went though, Lauren couldn’t deny that she had been treated fairly well. Despite their questionable and “rocky” - to put it nicely - start, the two seemed to get along fine. Lauren was always fed and clothed, her clothing being washed after she had bathed. After Lauren had gotten sick, the woman had stayed by her side, offering her medicine every few hours. Of course, the woman was silent and very little conversation was made, always one-sided and initiated by Lauren and therefore lasting only a moment, but most of the time, Lauren was fine with that.

It wasn’t long before Lauren found herself becoming comfortable with the routine of her new life, though she knew she shouldn’t. More often than not, she would remind herself, “It’s just until I’m healed, then I’m getting out of here.” With her cold cleared up - it had thankfully lasted only a few days - Lauren found herself anxious. She wanted the deep cuts on her body to heal faster so that she might have a chance at escaping, but she also knew how little of a chance she had, even if she had been completely unscathed. After all, she hadn’t been able to escape her assailant in the mine when it had really counted, but the odds had already been stacked against her.

Laying in her room - what else was new? - Lauren decided she was sick of laying around. She wanted to do something, something outside of her room. She wasn’t sure yet what that “something” was, but anything that occurred outside of her own room sounded wonderful, even if it was something absolutely boring like laundry.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Lauren pushed herself up, wincing at the pain in her arms and abdomen. The cuts were slowly but surely healing and the wounds weren’t fresh, but the incident had occurred only a week before so she was still sore. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Lauren huffed a deep breath before standing up. Like every time before, she turned the knob first - a fruitless attempt to leave, but she still wished she could. Being held prisoner wasn’t exactly her favourite pastime.

The knob clicked beneath her grip, the door cracking open. Lauren drew in a sharp breath, frozen in place for several seconds before she slowly opened the door. She half expected the woman to hear the nearly silent click of the door and come charging down the hall, but no figure appeared. Why was the door unlocked? Had the woman just forgotten to lock it back? That seemed unlikely, considering the door was always locked from the outside whenever the masked person wasn’t in the room with Lauren.

The light in the main entrance before the front door was on, but the rest of the house was cast into darkness. Down the hall, Lauren couldn’t tell if the lamp and books had been picked up from their places on the floor.

With the entirety of the house resting in silence, Lauren could easily hear the sound of crying from down the hall. It was a soft sound, but unmistakable. A thought - irrational as it might be - struck Lauren and then it was the only thing she could think. Maybe Kate had returned; of course she would be overwhelmed, but Lauren was finally there. She could comfort her.

All of the doors down the hall were closed and as Lauren slowly made her way past the staircase, the sobbing grew quiet until she could no longer hear it.

“Kate?” Lauren whispered, hoping she would get an answer, though she knew it was highly unlikely. Opening the first room to the left, Lauren was greeted with a mostly empty room, a small table and several boxes the only things present.

Closing the door silently, Lauren tried the next room. Like the first, it was empty of people. The room was exactly as Lauren had found it when she had arrived, not a thing out of place since then. Across the hall, the bathroom was in the same condition as the bedrooms. That only left one room.

Silently feeling her way down the hall, Lauren approached Kate’s room. Her heart was hammering in her chest; she knew something was about to happen, be it getting caught or finding Kate. Holding her breath, Lauren turned the knob to the last bedroom. Like every other room she had looked in, there was no person to be found and the room looked exactly like it had over a week prior. Something about the room compelled her though and Lauren entered, her eyes taking in the unfortunately familiar sight of the papers scattered across the floor and pasted to the walls like wallpaper. The lamp on the desk was still on and the glass covering the carpet hadn’t been disturbed. With the glass shattered across the floor, the room was a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house, the wind sweeping in uninhibited and ruffling the curtains.

Something in the floor caught Lauren’s attention and she approached the small trash can, uncomfortably bending down to pick up the crumpled piece of paper that was dropped beside it. It looked as if it had been crumpled up and thrown away, but had missed its target. Unfolding the white piece of paper, Lauren found a handwritten note in black ink. Her stomach churned and she suddenly felt sick as she read the message.

“Kate,  
“I want to see you again. I can't stop thinking about you, Kate. About us. I'm sorry for what happened in the park - maybe I shouldn't have said those things. I know you may not feel the same way, but I don't want to let you go. I hope someday you'll change your mind. I'll be here waiting for you. Please, just think about it some more. I have so many things I want to show you, so many things I want to share with you. I want to protect you. I hope we can at least still be friends.  
“Yours truly,  
“Carl-Ross”

Crumpling the letter up in her hand, Lauren felt tears sting her eyes. Of all the things there were to cry about, this was perhaps the most ridiculous, but Lauren couldn’t help it. CR wanted to protect Kate? Well he had sure done a marvelous job of it, considering they were both missing. Lauren felt sicker at the idea that maybe they had run away together, tried to leave everything behind, but she put the idea away. That seemed unlikely, especially considering it seemed like Kate didn’t reciprocate Carl’s feelings.

Movement from the corner of her eye had Lauren turning to find the masked woman in the doorway. Though Lauren couldn’t see her face, she could feel the rage radiating from her and it terrified her. The dark, dried blood on the once-white hoodie felt more ominous than ever and Lauren nearly shivered in fear.

Lightning fast, the woman darted into the room and snatched Lauren’s arm, gripping the limb wrapped in bandages tightly as she tugged her out of the room. The crumpled paper in Lauren’s hands was dropped as she gasped, the pain setting her alight.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren pleaded, praying the grip on her arm would relent or just shift further down. The cuts beneath the white bandages throbbed; the only time they had felt so badly was when they had first been inflicted.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren desperately repeated. “I thought I heard something. I-I wasn’t going to leave.”

At the end of the hallway, she was pushed into her room and the door was slammed behind her, the lock turning loudly into place. Lauren flinched at the loud sound of the door slamming and as the lock slid into place, sealing her in the bedroom once more, Lauren began to cry. She felt like a child crying over things outside of her control which did nothing to help the situation.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lauren sobbed to herself, wishing more than ever that Kate was there with her.


	7. Leave Everything Else Behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took too long to update this. I'll try to update more often.

Punishment came in the form of no food. Left in her room alone, Lauren drank from the faucet in the bathroom frequently, trying to make her stomach quiet by tricking it into thinking it was full. Needless to say, it didn’t work too well. Several days passed with no food or visits from the masked person and Lauren tried to ignore the gnawing pits in her stomach and mind. While the lack of food was hard to ignore, her mind often wandered off to thoughts of Kate, wondering if the woman was alright or if she’d been…

No, Lauren wouldn’t think about that. The “what if”s were too overwhelming to think about and left her feeling sick.

Lauren had figured that at least four days had passed by the time her bedroom door finally opened, the hooded woman standing in the doorway. Lauren sat up, scooting to the edge of the bed closest to the door in anticipation, good or bad. The menacing face of the mask drew closer before stopping in front of her, staring her down with hazy eyes. After what felt like much too long, an unnaturally pale hand reached out and lightly pulled at Lauren’s shirt.

Glancing down at the red, short sleeved piece of clothing, Lauren said, “I got a bath and changed my clothes.” When the woman’s hand moved down to her upper arm, Lauren added, “I changed my bandages too.”

The person’s body language was impossible to read but Lauren didn’t think she was still mad; at least, she didn’t seem nearly as enraged as before.

The woman’s hand disappeared from her body as she continued to stare at her. Lauren decided to fill the awkward silence with more apologies.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated from days before. “I heard someone crying and - and I thought it might have been Kate…”

Her voice broke on her friend's name and tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t bother trying to keep them from flooding over.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to leave. I just thought it could have been her…” She wiped her face with the palm of her hand. “I was afraid she could be hurt.”

A finger under her chin had Lauren’s head lifting up so that she was staring at the dirty white mask. The woman’s other hand came up to wipe the tears from Lauren’s face with her thumb and Lauren was instantly convinced that she was no longer in trouble.

Firm but gentle hands grasped Lauren’s hands and pulled her to her feet slowly. Lauren swayed unsteadily before pitching forward, her hands grasping the woman’s dirty hoodie in tight fists as her knees gave out. Two hands were quick to grab her hips, pulling her back to her feet and holding her in case she fell again. When Lauren was sure she could trust her legs again, the hands on her body disappeared, one hand moving to press lightly at the small of her back. It was a familiar gesture and a small part of Lauren felt a flood of relief at the familiarity of the situation (though her brain told her that was an inappropriate reaction; she promptly ignored that thought).

Lauren’s legs wobbled slightly as she descended the stairs and it reminded her of the first time she had been allowed from her room, though something about this time held more relief than tension. At the foot of the stairs, Lauren could still feel the hand on her back as she made her way through the dining room and into the kitchen, taking a seat in her usual chair at the square table. With the woman preparing some kind of food in the kitchen to the left, Lauren noticed that the plant on the center of the table had recently been watered and it looked to be doing much better. A small feeling of pride surged through her and it also made her realize that, dangerous though she may be, the masked woman was only human. Well, perhaps a little more than human, but still human at her core.

A plate of food was suddenly set in front of her and Lauren felt equal parts grateful and ravenous. She barely registered what she was eating - it seemed to be homemade tacos; could the woman actually cook? - before the food had disappeared from her plate. As she ate, she could clearly feel the other person’s eyes on her, though she couldn’t care less at the moment.

Within a few short minutes, all of the food had disappeared from Lauren’s plate and she was beginning to feel full, if not a little too full. As the plate was taken from in front of her and the woman returned to the kitchen, Lauren noticed a small piece of paper folded in half twice that stuck out from beneath the small planting pot in the center of the table. Sparing a glance to the kitchen, Lauren saw that the woman was cleaning up and moving things around and she risked it, quietly lifting the pot and sliding the note out. As quietly as she could manage, Lauren unfolded the piece of paper to read the letter.

“Meet me by the street in an hour.  
“I left a list of things to bring with you.  
“Leave everything else behind. I'll explain everything as soon as I see you. I know how to fix all of this.  
“Don't tell Lauren about me.”

The note was, unsurprisingly, signed with “CR” and folding the note up again, Lauren glanced back towards the kitchen. Her eyes caught sight of the small, blue-framed whiteboard on the refrigerator and she read over the list of items quietly.

“Flashlight, batteries, extra tapes, lighter, kerosene, lock the house.”

Lauren had seen the list when she had first arrived at the house but had thought it was something Kate had written down as a reminder. Knowing that Carl had made the list for her was upsetting, especially when she considered the fact that it was probably the last thing Kate read over before she disappeared.

The note was suddenly pulled from her hands and Lauren’s head whipped up to see the masked woman staring at her blankly as she tucked the note into the dirty front pocket of her hoodie. Lauren half expected to be pulled from the chair and shoved back into her room, so she was pleasantly surprised when a hand gently grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet before leading her into the kitchen. Lauren’s mind was racing at all the possibilities of what could happen next when the woman opened the door that led into the sitting room.

A lamp was turned on where it sat on a coffee table against the wall but otherwise, the room was dark. The door to the living room was closed and thick black curtains were drawn over every window, blocking out the light from outside (if it was even daytime to begin with).

The hand on Lauren’s arm disappeared, allowing her to move on her own. Hesitantly, Lauren wandered the room slowly. The chess board and pieces on the coffee table caught her eye and she found herself dropping down to her knees carefully so that she could see them closer. Some of the game’s pieces had been knocked over and scattered across the floor and, while Lauren wasn’t sure how to set them up properly, she still picked them all up and set them back on the checker-patterned board.

The sound of piano keys being pressed had Lauren looking up to see the masked woman standing in front of the piano, her hand resting on an arbitrary set of keys. As Lauren watched the woman take a seat on the piano bench, it reminded her of how young children often pressed the keys in an attempt to make something of value, though all that was produced was discord.

The woman’s hands raised to set lightly over the keys and she pressed a few, seemingly trying to get her bearings before her mask tilted down so that it appeared she was staring at her lap and her fingers began to press the keys lightly. This time, the notes were harmonic, creating a beautiful yet somber tune.

Lauren was impressed. Of all the things she had seen the woman do - bathe her, address her wounds, cook - playing an instrument was not one Lauren would have ever guessed she was capable of. Something about her was so far from human that watching her play the piano was such a shocking reminder she still was, in fact, human.

From behind, Lauren had a less than perfect view of the piano, the bench and the woman herself blocking the sight. Grabbing the edge of the coffee table for support, Lauren managed to push herself up from her place on the floor, slowly approaching the piano in the corner. The woman didn’t even lift her head as Lauren slid onto the bench beside her. She tried to sit far enough away that they wouldn’t touch, but with the woman sitting in the center of the bench, Lauren had little choice but to edge closer until she was sure she wouldn’t fall off the end. Unfortunately, that meant sitting with their thighs pressed together. Lauren nearly held her breath, expecting the stranger beside her to become violent or aggressive at the contact, but she didn’t seem to notice in the slightest.

Emboldened - though just slightly - by the lack of reaction, Lauren slid a little closer, her shoulder pressed against the woman’s. Though the woman had to move her arm frequently to reach the keys, she still didn’t seem to mind the contact.

“I like this song,” Lauren said, oh-so-slowly relaxing against the body pressed to her side. “It’s… Pretty.”

Off the top of her head, Lauren couldn’t think of another adjective to describe the song; for the most part, she was still in shock that the woman was even playing the piano. The song itself was beautiful, though inexplicably melancholy, each note bringing a haunting essence that sent a chill down Lauren’s spine. As beautiful as the song was though, it quickly came to an end, the woman’s fingers resting on the keys gently before slowly sliding off to rest in her lap.

With the song concluded, the blank face of the woman’s mask turned to stare directly at Lauren, their faces mere inches apart. Without averting her gaze, the woman’s hands lifted to grab Lauren’s, holding them gently as if she might break her with one wrong move. The action was so surprising, so uncharacteristic of her, that Lauren froze in place, her mind following suit. The hold on her hands was so unlike the grip the woman typically had on Lauren’s arm when she allowed her to leave her room.

Turning her face away, the masked woman brought Lauren’s hands up to rest on the piano’s keys but Lauren tried to pull them away, murmuring, “I don’t know how to play.”

Refusing to take no for an answer, the woman held Lauren’s hands in place, slipping her hands over the other woman’s to rest her palms against the backs of Lauren’s hands. Her skin was surprisingly warm as she began to move Lauren’s hands, guiding them into position before placing her fingers over Lauren’s and pressing the keys, slowly moving their hands to play a song. The tune was slow - probably much slower than it was supposed to be - and Lauren kept accidentally pressing the wrong keys in her nervousness, but the woman was patient as she continued to guide their hands, playing out whatever song had come to her mind.

The warmth of the skin to skin contact had Lauren’s chest aching, her heart yearning for the touch of her friend and the comfort that came along with her presence. Something about the woman beside her brought Lauren a sense of calm - although she argued to her self that it could have just been the slow tempo of the song and the gentle hold on her hands - though she wasn’t sure how or why. Everything about her situation was wrong and she had never in her wildest dreams imagined herself to be stuck in such a situation such as the one she was currently in, but amidst what should have been chaos, the only thing Lauren could feel besides the nervous, frantic beating of her heart was a growing sense of contentment. If she hadn’t known any better, she might have mistaken it for domesticity.

Before she knew it, the hands on hers were gone, leaving her fingers resting on the white keys. Had they already finished the song? Lauren couldn’t remember; she had been too absorbed in her thoughts to pay much mind to what was going on.

Returning her hands to her lap, Lauren watched as the woman’s hands returned to the piano, starting a new tune that was much more somber than the previous one. While the song they had played before had held a feeling of darkness and mystery, this song was simply sad. The slow tune and low notes had tears brimming in Lauren’s eyes, though she couldn’t explain why. Unbidden tears gathered in her eyes before slipping down to drip from her chin, dotting her shirt and turning the fabric a darker colour. She was quick to wipe her face with her thumb, drying her hand with her pants afterward, but the woman beside her had already noticed.

As quickly as they had done before, the woman’s hands were touching Lauren, this time cupping her face. A palm was pressed lightly to each of Lauren’s cheeks and her eyes darted up to see cloudy ones behind the mask watching her intently.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren said with a half smile, feeling ridiculous. It was just a song, after all.

Regardless, the woman continued to hold Lauren’s face in her hands, leaning forward incrementally until their faces were nearly touching. Lauren drew in a sharp breath, subconsciously holding it as the thick plastic of the woman’s mask bumped her face, their noses brushing. Lauren wasn’t sure what to do, what she should do, and especially what the other woman was trying to do, but with her nerves making her arms tremble, she found herself closing her eyes. The hands on her face were hot as the cool plastic gently pressed against her face, their foreheads meeting in a light bump that had Lauren sighing, her lungs aching for a new breath.

Though Lauren wasn’t sure what to call the action or what it even meant, something about it seemed inexplicably more intimate than any other physical act she had engaged in. Her eyes were still closed as she searched blindly for the other woman’s body but once she found it, her hands were quick to clench the stained hoodie in a white knuckle grip. Even through the two layers the woman wore, Lauren could still feel the immense body heat that seemed to radiate from the other person. She vaguely remembered the other times she had felt the others hands on her body and how warm they had been, but now they seemed fiery hot and Lauren was almost positive she would melt from the contact alone.

When the woman finally went to pull back, Lauren found herself gripping her hoodie tighter, pulling her closer. She wasn’t sure if she was simply touch starved beyond repair or if she was secretly hoping for something to happen, but regardless, she still pulled the woman closer, quietly murmuring how she didn’t want to let go. To her surprise, the woman hesitated for only a moment before she pushed the plastic of the mask back to Lauren’s face, either unbothered or simply ignoring the tight grip on her hoodie. Lauren’s arms were trembling as she breathed a sigh of relief at the sustained contact, keeping her eyes shut tight.

She wasn’t ready to open them for fear that her entire world would come crumbling down again and she’d be left alone in the darkness of her bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs (in order played):  
> Lament by Myuu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHXkU2LKm50  
> Haunted By Screams by Myuu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSxM2IIABRg  
> Memento by Myuu - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqqUSqNOp-s


End file.
